Tony

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Have sent a pm with some links.

Have you tried contacting the National Archives in Kew? I know service records from the Great War can be accessed but I'm not sure if WWII records have been released. Tony

The fitting attachment

You don't see many of these so I thought I'd show off my one. Is there anyone else here who has a liking for periscopes/trench mirrors? Tony

Hello Eric, I picked them up ages ago, late 80s early 90s. They came from flea markets and dealers but none of them were bargains. Mind you, I haven't seen one for quite a while now. Tony

Does an entrenching tool count? It's dated 1915. The spade or 'spade part of' was found between Ginchy and Sailly Saillisel by my son last year and is either French or German. Tony

Dan, Can't tell you anything about the gas mask except as the nose clip isn't there, it'll more than likely be a late war model. I don't know what the bag is either but it's probably US as the only Brit Putnam in the RAMC was a Captain. Does the Brodie have a name and number on the chinstrap? Below are pics of my Brodies with liners to show you what the stamp looks like. The clean looking one was Brit Brodie used by the US. Tony

Hello Dan, Never seen straw carriers before but have seen plenty made from wicker. I once saw a British web or canvas 18 pdr. carrier which was thrown over the shoulders with room for one shell each side. Do you think POWs may have made the straw ones? Tony

9 quid.

Why buy a didgeridoo when that sort of gear is there.

Is that a hole in the rear peak under the spine? Might mean it was changed at one time but that could just as well have been in 1915. Check the colour of the leather inside the hole. I still like it going on the pictures. Tony

Jas, I'm not overly experienced with these, there are enough here who are and can guide you better than I can, but here's what I have to say anyway. I only have 3 pickelhaubes (3 more than most, I know), the leather ones have a brown liner, the felt one has a black liner. When buying, I look for signs such as the pins holding the spike in place, are they sitting tightly or do they look as though they were put in recently (thinking parts haube)? Are there signs of the comb from a fireman's helmet? If the badge is removed, does it look as though it's been part of the haube for years and years? In what condition is the chinstrap leather on the inside, new or old and used? Without actually handling the one pictured I'd say the haube, spike, badge and spine have been there from the start, don't know about the chinstrap and liner though, they look ok in the pic but I'd need to actually handle them. I also have a cheap monitor so don't always see the details. Is the shop local?????? Tony

I was doing a bit of googling at work today and from what I found, it seems that the Brit made gas masks had a black filter for drill purposes. Those masks that saw service in a theatre of war had yellow and green filters. The yellow coloured filter appears to be the main one used by US troops. There was also a difference in the carrying bag which I found on a reenactor site but there weren't any details, it just said US bags had snaps or something that are to be hidden from view when reenacting in Brit gear. As for prices, well, I think it all depends on the country you are in. The US M17 helmet will probably only cost about ?40 in the UK whereas the Brodie pictured would set you back ?100 - ?150. This may or may not reflect prices in the US. The price of a Brit box respirator? Silly money. Choose your own 3 figure number (in sterling) and someone somewhere will buy it. I've only ever seen one, that was years and years ago and it was snapped up for ?400. If you ever find the differences between British and US masks, please post it. As for the difference between the US M17 and Brodie; I think the easiest are the rivets holding the chinstrap bails. Brit ones having the split pin, US having a domed rivet on top and under the brim. There are other differences too like makers and I think the material in the US helmet is grey as opposed to buff. The split pin rivets are the easiest though. Tony

I reckon that's brilliant, what you need now is a return trip to Holland to take a pic of his grave. Saw a British Great War death card a while ago but was too tight to dip my hand into my pocket. Tony

I think it's the bit of metal joining the mask and tube, the Brit one obviously made with more expensive material, making it as you mention, out of reach for the bog standard pocket.

The top one looks like a 37mm Hotchkiss. The bottom one well, I don't know. The two grooves under the driving band seem to say German to me but it could just as well be French. Jens will know but if he's not watching football he's probably stuck in the traffic. Tony

That's a nice helmet, a Brit made MKI rimmed Brodie. I think about 3 or 400,000 were sent to the US troops in France before they had their M17 helmet production up and running. Will the museum let you check under the oil cloth? There should be a red Brodie stamp. Great gas mask too, is it US made? I can't tell the difference between Brit and US gas masks but both are really quite rare. Tony

Yes Darrell, my name Tony

Paul, A small world it is indeed, these came from a place a long, long way from me, a place in fact where today is now tomorrow and where my Aussie relations say the locals have a very strange accent. Can you guess where they came from? Chet, I?ve not got many as I only started collecting them about a year ago tops. I have a pair, a trio, this group and the rest are odd singles and a plaque. The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal was awarded to men and NCOs who had completed 12 years service. Territorial 'time' in the Great War counted as double. William Neal?s TFEM was issued in May 1921 and has the correct post 1919 ribbon. All the ribbons are full length and were probably put in a draw in the 1920s, and look like they've been there ever since. I've been told the the cardboard box for Miss MJ Neal (his daughter?) would have held a Red Cross medal. Tony

Look at what arrived today. A big thanks to Chet who spotted this group for me! All named to 1270 WL Neal RAMC, the TFEM has the number 419011. Don?t know what the half ?Gaunt? cardboard box was for though, it has Miss MJ Neal written on it. Tony

There's a book on these? Do you have the ISBN Chip? I've done a quick online search but didn't find anything. Is it still in print? Tony

I do like that small one at the bottom, very nice I think the large one is the 1915 pattern The square one is the 1869 (or there abouts) pattern The one for Peter Weis could be a home made / private purchase tag to wear with his 1879 tag That lovely one at the bottom is from 1879 and onwards. I suppose they would have been used right till the end of the war. The Brit 1906 aluminium disc was also worn by old soldiers after the fibre pattern came on the scene. Just noticed that my 1915 disc has a line for snapping along the middle, maybe it's somewhere between 1915 and 1916.

Three November 1916 pattern discs, all can be broken in two and are slightly different in shape but roughly the same size. The top one (L.J.R. 61, 1. M.G.K. No. 65) has the soldier's name and address on the reverse. Obviously privately made. He was Franz Janssen, born 31.7.93 and lived at Fuhlentwiete 39 in Hamburg. I?m not sure about one of them as it has very few details, Land.Schutz.Erz.Batl. 6 St.Kp. 20934, could it be from WWII? Anyone know how to clean them up a bit? Tony